Apparatus for attaching hangers to paper boxes

ABSTRACT

A substantially Z-shaped hanger is formed and attached to a container by feeding a tape around a pressing roller having a notch therein and simultaneously contacting the tape with a wheel having a projection for entering into the notch to form a fold in the tape. The wheel also carries a cutting blade for cutting a selected length of tape. A pressing member is disposed adjacent the notch for flattening the fold formed in the tape.

O Umted States Patent [1 1 [111 3,808,957 Hosoya et al. May 7, 1974 [54] APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING HANGERS 2,939,257 6/1960 Bartelt 53/134 o PAPER BOXES 3,334,550 8/1967 Craig 93/8 WA 3,660,204 5/1972 Wesselmann et a]. 93/35 H X [75] Inventors: Minoru Hosoya, Tokyo; Tatsuharu Hams, Yokohama Hrsayukr Primary Examiner Roy Lake Arafune Kawasakl of Japan Assistant Examiner-James F. Coan [73] Assignee: Kao Soap Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Ja Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Woodhams, Blanchard and Fl nn 22 Filed: Aug. 3, 1972 y [21] Appl. No.: 277,656 [57] ABSTRACT A substantially Z-shaped hanger is formed and at- 52 US. Cl. 93/36.7, 53/134, 93/8 WA tached to a Container y feeding a tape-around a 51 Int. Cl B3lb 1/86 Pressing roller having a notch therein and Simulta- [58] Field of Search 93/36.7, 35 H, 36 R, 1 R, neously Contacting the tape with a Wheel having a P 93/3 53/134 jection for entering into the notch to form a fold in the tape. The wheel also carries a cutting blade for cutting 5 R f r Cited a selected length of tape. A pressing member is dis- UNITED STATES PATENTS posed adjacent the notch for flattening the fold formed in the tape. 2,775,171 l2/l956 Steen et a]. 93/35 H X 2,060.450 ll/l936 Steen 93/35 H 6 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures QATENTEDMAY 71974 3808,95?

SHEET 1 0F 7 ATENTEUMAY 7 1914 SHEEI t [1F 7 l m mwwmmmmmm sum 5 OF 7 PATENTED MAY 7 I974 APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING HANGERS TO PAPER BOXES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to an apparatus for attaching hangers or handles to containers, such as paper boxes, and, more particularly, relates to an apparatus wherein a hanger material in the form of a tape is cut to a fixed length, is folded to be in substantially the form of a Z and then is attached to a paper box.

2. Description of the Prior Art In conventional methods of attaching hangers to paper boxes, a hanger made in a fixed form in advance,

or a hanger having the form of a tape of a fixed length is attached to a paper box. However, these procedures are not fully satisfactory because the former requires many manufacturing steps and the latter is inconvenient to carry out and/or the handle does not have a desirable, attractive appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an apparatus for attaching a tape-form hanger or handle to a container by cutting the tape to form a handle of fixed length and folding the handle to substantially Z-shape before it is attached to the container. The hanger is attractive in appearance and is easy to hold because the folded part can be unfolded during use so that the hanger can be easily grasped. Also, the hanger can be continuously manufactured and is therefore adapted to be massproduced.

The attached drawings show a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the drawings:

FIG. I is a plan view of the entire apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the paste applying subassembly.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the hanger forming and attaching subassembly.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the delivery subassembly.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the reinforcing tape attaching subassembly.

FIGS. 6(a) (e) illustrate various conditions of the container during the sequence of steps of attaching the hanger to the container.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the hanger.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged detail view of FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged detail view of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A preferred embodiment of the present invention shall be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. In FIG. 1, there is illustrated an overall plan view of the apparatus embodying the present invention and comprising the following subassemblies: a container feeding subassembly A; an adhesive applying subassembly B; a hanger forming and attaching subassembly C; a delivery subassembly D for delivering the paper boxes to which hangers have been attached; a subassembly E for attaching reinforcing tapes to both ends of the hanger; and a subassembly F wherein the folded part of the hanger is temporarily secured in place.

The invention particularly relates to an improvement in the subassembly C and the other subassemblies A, B and D F can be of a variety of different types and arrangements. However, preferred typical arrangements of the other subassemblies will be briefly described to insure a clear understanding of the structure and mode of operation of subassembly C.

In the subassembly A, several belts 2 are respectively fitted to pulleys 1. Paper boxes V (FIG. 6) are fed by the belts 2 to the subassembly B in series. As shown in FIG. 6a, the boxes V can be scored, if desired, to form an upper surface section v which can be folded with respect to a central surface section v.

In the subassembly B, as shown in-FIG. 2, the pape box is fed forward by chains 4 having driving lugs 3 thereon and an adhesive or paste is applied to two places on the upper surface section v of the'paper box as shown in FIG. 6b. For this purpose, the boxes pass between a roller 6 provided with two paste applying pieces 5 and a back-up roller 7. Part 8 is a paste transferring roller, part 9 is a paste scraping plate or doctor blade, part 10 is a paste container, part 11 is a roller for holding the paper box on the chains and part 12 is a support for the paste scraping plate 9. The position of the paste scraping plate 9 is determined by the position of an adjustable stop 14. A spring 13 resiliently urges the supporting plate 12 against the stop 14. The parts 9, 12, 13 and 14 are arranged so that the roller 8 deposits a fixed adjustable amount of paste onto the pieces 5 and thereby onto the paper box.

The paper box V, to which the paste has been applied as above described, is then fed to the hanger forming and attaching subassembly C illustrated in FIG. 3. A tapeform hanger of the shape illustrated in FIG. 7 is formed and attached to the box V by the subassembly C. The subassembly C comprises a roll of tape 15, such as a flexible polyethylene tape, which roll is rotatably mounted on an upright support 16. The tape extends around a guide roller 17, thence between a pair of driving rollers 29 and 32, then passes around a guide roller 18, a tension roller 19 and a guide roller 20, from whence it passes to the periphery of the handleapplying roller 21. The periphery of the roller 21 has two notches 25 and two cutting slots 22' in the periphery thereof so that a handle can be cut and folded by either circumferential half of the roller.

The rollers 29 and 32 continuously feed the tape at a constant speed. However, the roller 21 and wheel 23 advance the tape only intermittently, so that while the leading end of the tape is kept immobile, the roller 19 is lowered to hold in reserve the length of the tape which is fed by the rollers 29 and 32 during that time. The roller 19 is elevated when the tape is again advanced by the roller 21 and wheel 23. Further, since the tape feed speed of the rollers 29 and 32 is made slightly faster than the mean feed speed of the roller 21 and wheel 23, the roller 19 may reach the lower extremity of its predetermined path of travel, whereupon a limit switch not shown in' the drawings becomes operative to actuate the solenoid 30 thereby causing the roler 29 to move out of contact with the roller 32. The advancement of the tape is thus discontinued. The operations of the limit switch and the solenoid 30 terminate when the roller 19 is elevated from its fully lowered position. The roller 19 again moves into frictional contact with the roller 32 to resume tape advancement. It will be seen, therefore, that the solenoid 30 operates without relation to the roller 21 and wheel 23.

The wheel 23 is disposed in radial opposition to the roller 21 and it carries a radial projection 24 which is adapted to fit within an opposing notch 25 in the roller 21 to form the folded portion of the hanger as illustrated in FIG. 7. The wheel 23 also carries a radially projecting cutting blade 22 receivable in the slots 22' to cut the trailing edge of the hanger. The wheel 23 is driven continuously. The tape is advanced by frictional contact between the tape and the projecting portion on the wheel 23 and the roller 21.

A pressing plate 26 is mounted inside of the roller 21 for rotation therewith and for movement toward and away from the periphery thereof. The pressing plate 26 is mounted on a lever 28 which is urged by a spring 27 against a stationary cam 28A. The dwell or low zone of the cam 28A normally positions the pressing plate 26 close to the periphery of the roller 21 adjacent the notch 25. The pressing plate 26, lever 28 and spring 27 are all affixed to the roller 21 for rotation therewith. The pressing plate 26 functions only to press against the folded tape, and not to pull in the same. The .relationship between the cam and pressing plate will be explained later in greater detail. In its outward position the pressing plate-26 is adapted to engage the trailing side of the fold formed by the projection 24 and assists in moving same out of the notch 25. When the lobe or high zone of cam 28A contacts the cam follower on lever 28, the pressing plate is retracted. This occurs after the projection 24 leaves the notch 25. i

It will be understood that a second pressing plate will be associated with the other notch 25, but the same has been omitted from the drawing for purposes of simplification.

The wheel 23 has a projecting portion 70 having a leading end 71. The projecting portion 70 presses the tape against the roller 21 during the tape feeding, folding and cutting operations. Following passage between the nip of the roller 21 and wheel 23, the tape passes downwardly between the tape guide 40 and the roller 21 and then is pressed against the box V by the I the projection portion 70 of the wheel 23, a cam c is rotated by the wheel 23 to depress the cam follower g as well as the link h. The roller 1), supported by the links e and f as aforesaid, is thereby moved into frictional contact with the roller 21 toaid in the advancement of the tape 15. This tape is severed by the cutting blade 22 of the wheel 23 and the cutting slot 22' of the roller 21 at the point of contact between the wheel 23 and the roller 21. When the wheel 23 is going to feed the tape by the leading end 71 of its projecting portion 70, the severed end of the tape is caught by the roller 21, so that this tape is previously fed by the roller b. Thereafter, the roller 17 is moved off the roller 21 by the cam c.

When a paper box is conveyed to a predetermined position below the roller 21 and wheel 23, the tape is advanced downwardly by the projecting portion 70 of the wheel '23, whereas the projection 24 on the wheel 23 is received in the notch 25 of the roller 21 thereby pressing the tape into the notch. At the moment when the projection 24 is released from the notch 25, the pressing plate 26 secures the folded tape against a surface 26 due to the cooperation of the cam 28A and cam follower or lever 28. Succeedingly, the tape is cut at a desired length by the cutting blade 22 and slot 22'.

The tape folded and arrested as above by the pressing plate 26 and surface 26' is then transferred on to the paper box in that folded state as the pressing plate 26 is moved off the surface 26' by the cam 28A and lever The stop 35 is pivotal about'a fulcrum 38 and is urged by a spring 39 to move same counterclockwise into said normal position. The rod 37 of a solenoid 36 is coupled to the stop 35 for pivoting same clockwise to disengage said stop from the wheel 23 to permit pivotal movement of said wheel away from the roller 21. The wheel 23 is supported on a pivotal arm 33 to permit such pivotal movement and a spring 34 is provided to urge said wheel 23 away from the roller 21 when the stop 35 is out of engagement with said wheel. 1

The solenoid 36, as well as the rod 37, fulcrum 38, spring 39, stop 35 and spring 34 which are associated therewith, is all provided for operation in the event of some trouble. During normal operation, the wheel 23 makes one complete revolution during the 180 revolution of the roller 21, so that one hanger is attached to one paper box which passes below the roller 21. This action is repeated continuously. in the event paper boxes are not supplied one by one during each l80of rotation of the roller 21, i.e., when one of the paper boxes fails to be properly arrested by any one of the driving lugs 3, FIG. 2, which are disposed at equal spacings determined in relation with the rotation of the roller 21, the absence of this-paper box from the driving lug is detected by the microswitch not shown in the drawings. The solenoid 36 is then actuated to prevent the projecting portion of the wheel 23 from contact-- ing the roller 21 so that the forming and dispensing of a hanger does not take place in this instance. Upon actuation of the solenoid 36, the stop 35 moves off the wheel 23 with the result that the same is swung away inoperative so that the stop 35 returns to its illustratedinitial position to cause the wheel 23 to move into contact with the roller 21 and hence to resume normal operation.

Following completion of the cutting and application of one length of tape to a box, the uncut tape remains stationary until the-next box approaches the subassembly C. Such approaching box V actuates a limit switch (not shown) which actuates the solenoid 30 to pull the rod 31 which rotates the rollers 29 and 31 to feed the tape forward a short distance so that it enters the nip between the roller 21 and the leading end 71 of the projection 70, whereupon another length of tape is advanced, folded and applied to the box as above described.

The box to which the hanger has been attachedis then fed to the delivering subassembly D shown in FIG. 4 and is moved thereby in a direction at a right angle to the direction in which the box moves in the subassemblies A, B and C. The subassembly D comprises two sets of cruciform receivers 41 and 42 for receiving both opposite side edges of the paper box V fed from the subassembly C. The receivers 41 and 42 are rotatably supported at their centers by shafts 43 and 44. A chain 49 extends around sprockets 45 and 46 on the shafts 43' and 44, thence around a driven sprocket 47 and around an intermediate sprocket 48. The sprocket 47 is connected to an arm 51 which is moved by a cam 50 and is rotated intermittently so that the receivers 41 and 42 may be intermittently rotated in opposite directions through an arc of 90 and the received paper box V may be dropped from the receivers onto the moving chain 52 and may be moved to the reinforcing tape attaching subassembly E. There is a one-way clutch between the sprocket 47 and arm 51. Thus, only when the arm 51 is moved rightwardly as viewed in FIG. 4, the sprocket 47 is rotated counterclockwise, whereas the shaft 43 is rotated clockwise. The arm 51 is moved back and forth by the cam 50 through a stroke so determined that the shaft 43 is rotated through an arc of 90. In the drawing, part 53 is a main shaft connected to the prime mover. Its gear 54 meshes with a gear 57 fixed to a shaft 56 for the above mentioned cam 50 through an intermediate gear 55 so as to rotate the cam 50.

In the reinforcing tape attaching subassembly E, as shown in FIG. 5, a reinforcing tape 58 is fed between a guide roller 59 and a pressing roller 60, and lengths of said reinforcing tape are attached to both ends of the hanger of the paper box passing below them and said lengths are cut with a cutting blade 61. The pressing roller 60 is mounted on supporting piece 62 fitted to the shaft of the guide roller 59. The supporting piece 62 is connected to a rocker arm 64 operated by a cam 63 so that the roller 60 may pivot around the axis of the guide roller 59 as a center to press the forward end of the tape 58 to the box on one side of the hanger 15. The cutting blade 61 is connected with the cam 63 through arms 65, 66 and 67 and is moved downwardly to cut the tape 58 to a piece of fixed length so that the other end of the reinforcing tape piece maybe bonded to the box on the other side of the hanger as shown in (d) in FIG. 6.

The structure for applying the reinforcing tape is hereinafter described in relation with FIG. 9 of the drawings attached herewith, which is an enlarged detail view of the corresponding parts shown in FIG. 5. When a paper box is carried below the guide roller 59 and pressing roller 60, these rollers are depressed by the arms 66 and 67 into contact with the paper box. The pressing roller 60 is further turned around the guide roller 59 to attach the leading end of the reinforcing tape to the paper box. The feed of the reinforcing tape takes place in connection with the conveyance of the paper boxes. The guide roller 59 and pressing roller 60 are associated with the arms 66 and 67, while the arm 67, supported pivotally, is provided with a cam follower R at its lower end in sliding contact with the cam 63 being driven continuously. When this cam follower R rides on the lobe q on the cam 63, the arm 66 is moved downwardly to urge the pressing roller 60 onto the paper box. The reinforcing tape 58 is advanced by the combination of its own adhesiveness, the pressing roller 60 and another pressing roller p. It may be noted that an adhesive is previously coated on one surface of the reinforcing tape, and that the guide roller 59 is made of nonadhesive material.

When a predetermined length of the reinforcing" tape is advanced,.and when the arm 66 is elevated the cam 63 so that the pressing roller 60 turns around the guide roller 59 back to.its initial position, the cutting blade 61 is lowered between the pressing rollers 60 and p to cut the tape 58. The cutting blade 61 is associated with a cam follower n of the cam 63 through rocker arms 65, 64,j and m. When the free end of the arm m is actuated by the cam follower n, the cutting blade 61 is depressed as aforesaid through the mentioned rocker arms 65, 64,j and m.

Further, in the fold fixing subassembly F, a hot melt adhesive is applied to temporarily fix the Z-shaped fold part. That is to say, the Z-shaped fold part 69 (FIG. 6e) is kept in a bonded state by pressing a heated punch 68 (FIG. 5) against it.

As described in the above, in the present invention, a tape 15 is folded to be substantially in the form of Z, is cut to be of a fixed length and is attached to a box automatically and efficiently with the mechanism shown in FIG. 3. That is tosay, the tape 15 fed onto the roller 21, is pressed at its forward end into contact with the surface of the roller 21 by the forward end 71 of a projection 70 of the blade wheel 23 so as to move with said roller 21, is folded into the notch 25 of the roller 21 by the folding projection 24, is cut to a fixed length by the cutting blade 22 and then is fed between the guide frame 40 and the roller 21. When the projection 24 disengages from the notch 25 of the roller 21, the folded part of the tape 15 is flattened or folded by the pressing plate 26, following which the ends of the folded tape are attached to the paper box. The pressing plate 26 is arranged so that, before the folded part reaches the surface of the paper box, the pressing may be released. The incoming end of the remaining tape 15 remains stationary in the cutting position until the next box is fed. The pressing force of the wheel 23 against the roller 21 is released by the operation of the electromagnet 36 until the forward end 71 of the projecting part of the blade wheel next comes into contact with the surface of the roller 21. Then energization of the electromagnet 36 is discontinued, such pressing force is produced again, the forward end of the tape l5 is held between the surface of the roller 21 and the projecting forward end part 71 of the blade wheel and is fed forwardly thereby and another hanger having the Z-shaped folded part is bonded to a paper box in the same manner as described above.

We claim:

1. A mechanism for folding and cutting a tape to form a substantially Z-shaped hanger adapted for attachment to a container, comprising:

a first roller mounted for rotation in one rotational direction about its longitudinal axis, said first roller having a notch in the periphery thereof;

a second roller mounted for rotation in the opposite rotational direction about its longitudinal axis, said second roller being positioned adjacent said first roller with said axes being substantially parallel;

tape advancing means associated with said rollers for intermittently advancing the free end of a continuous tape between said rollers to permit formation of a Z-shaped handle;

said tape advancing means including. on said second roller an outwardly projecting peripheral part which, during rotation of said rollers, is positioned substantially in engagement with the peripheral surface of said first roller so as to form a nip between said rollers so that thefree end of said tape is gripped at said nip by the leading edge of said projecting peripheral part for causing said tape to be fed through said nip, said projecting peripheral part extending through only a limited angular extent of the periphery of said second roller;

projection means mounted on said second roller and projecting outwardly therefrom for extending into said notch for pushing a part of said tape into said notch;

pressing means associated with said first roller and cooperating with said notch for pressing said part a of said tape which is positioned within said notch so as to form a folded portion in said tape; and

cutter means mounted on said second rollerfor rotation therewith and cooperating with said first roller for cutting said tape to a selected length.

2. A mechanism according to claim 1, further including tape guide means positioned adjacent the periphery of said first roller and spaced from said nip for maintaining said tape in engagement with the periphery of said first roller after said tape has passed through said mp.

3. A mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said outwardly projecting peripheral part comprises an arcuate platelike member which extends over a substantial arcuate extent of said second roller, said cutter means including a cutting blade mounted on said second roller and projecting outwardly therefrom substanradially of said first roller, said second roller being movable between a first position wherein the periph eral part engages the tape and feeds same through the nip during rotation of the rollers and a second location wherein the peripheral part is spaced a substantial distance from the peripheral surface of said first roller at all times during rotation of said second roller to prevent gripping and advancing of the tape. a

5. A mechanism according to claim 4, wherein said mounting means includes lever means having said sec ond roller mounted thereon, said lever means being mounted for swinging movement about a pivot axis which is spaced a substantial distance from the longitudinal axis of said second roller.

6. A mechanism according to claim 1, further including tape engaging roller means positioned adjacent the periphery of said first roller and disposed for maintaining said tape in engagement with the periphery of said first roller prior to said tape being fed into said nip. 

1. A mechanism for folding and cutting a tape to form a substantially Z-shaped hanger adapted for attachment to a container, comprising: a first roller mounted for rotation in one rotational direction about its longitudinal axis, said first roller having a notch in the periphery thereof; a second roller mounted for rotation in the opposite rotational direction about its longitudinal axis, said second roller being positioned adjacent said first roller with said axes being substantially parallel; tape advancing means associated with said rollers for intermittently advancing the free end of a continuous tape between said rollers to permit formation of a Z-shaped handle; said tape advancing means including on said second roller an outwardly projecting peripheral part which, during rotation of said rollers, is positioned substantially in engagement with the peripheral surface of said first roller so as to form a nip between said rollers so that the free end of said tape is gripped at said nip by the leading edge of said projecting peripheral part for causing said tape to be fed through said nip, said projecting peripheral part extending through only a limited angular extent of the periphery of said second roller; projection means mounted on said second roller and projecting outwardly therefrom for extending into said notch for pushing a part of said tape into said notch; pressing means associated with said first roller and cooperating with said notch for pressing said part of said tape which is positioned within said notch so as to form a folded portion in said tape; and cutter means mounted on said second roller for rotation therewith and cooperating with said first roller for cutting said tape to a selected length.
 2. A mechanism according to claim 1, further including tape guide means positioned adjacent the periphery of said first roller and spaced from said nip for maintaining said tape in engagement with the periphery of said first roller after said tape has passed through said nip.
 3. A mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said outwardly projecting peripheral part comprises an arcuate platelike member which extends over a substantial arcuate extent of said second roller, said cutter means including a cutting blade mounted on said second roller and projecting outwardly therefrom substantially adjacent the trailing edge of said outwardly projecting peripheral part, and said projection means being mounted on said second roller at a location spaced between the leading and trailing edges of said outwardly projecting peripheral part, said projection means projecting radially outwardly beyond the outer peripheral surface of said peripheral part.
 4. A mechanism according to claim 1, further including mounting means movably supporting said second roller for movement thereof in a direction substantially radially of said first roller, said second roller being movable between a first position wherein the peripheral part engages thE tape and feeds same through the nip during rotation of the rollers and a second location wherein the peripheral part is spaced a substantial distance from the peripheral surface of said first roller at all times during rotation of said second roller to prevent gripping and advancing of the tape.
 5. A mechanism according to claim 4, wherein said mounting means includes lever means having said second roller mounted thereon, said lever means being mounted for swinging movement about a pivot axis which is spaced a substantial distance from the longitudinal axis of said second roller.
 6. A mechanism according to claim 1, further including tape engaging roller means positioned adjacent the periphery of said first roller and disposed for maintaining said tape in engagement with the periphery of said first roller prior to said tape being fed into said nip. 